People v. Sandoval, S004765

• Decision Date: 14 December 1992
• Docket Number: No. 26405,No. S004765,S004765,26405
• Citation: 14 Cal.Rptr.2d 342,4 Cal.4th 155,841 P.2d 862
• Court: California Supreme Court
• Parties: , 841 P.2d 862, 61 USLW 2450 The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Alfred Arthur SANDOVAL, Defendant and Appellant. Crim.

Page 342

14 Cal.Rptr.2d 342

4 Cal.4th 155, 841 P.2d 862, 61 USLW 2450

The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Alfred Arthur SANDOVAL, Defendant and Appellant.

No. S004765.

Crim. No. 26405.

Supreme Court of California,

In Bank.

Dec. 14, 1992.

As Modified on Denial of Rehearing Feb. 10, 1993.

Eric S. Multhaup, San Francisco, under appointment by the Supreme Court, and Kathy M. Chavez, Berkeley, for defendant and appellant.

David Booth Beers and John Townsend Rich, Washington, D.C., as, amici curiae on behalf of defendant and appellant.

John K. Van de Kamp and Daniel E. Lungren, Attys. Gen., Richard B. Iglehart and George Williamson, Chief Asst. Attys. Gen., Edward T. Fogel, Jr., Asst. Atty. Gen., Carol Wendelin Pollak, Acting Asst. Atty. Gen., Marc E. Turchin, William T. Harter, Susan Lee Frierson and Sharon Wooden Richard, Deputy Attys. Gen., for plaintiff and respondent.

PANELLI, Justice.

Defendant was convicted by a jury in the Los Angeles County Superior Court of four counts of first degree murder (Pen.Code, § 187) ¹ with a multiple-murder special-circumstance finding ( § 190.2, subd. (a)(3)b), and one count of attempted murder ( §§ 664/187). The jury also found that defendant personally used a firearm in the commission of each offense ( § 12022.5).

The jury returned a verdict of death as to the conviction of murder of Marlene Wells and verdicts of life without possibility of parole as to the convictions of murder of Gilbert Martinez, Anthony Aceves, and Ray Wells. The appeal is automatic. ( § 1239, subd. (b).)

GUILT PHASE FACTS

Prosecution Case.

1. Belvedere Park Murders.

About 2:30 a.m. on October 14, 1984, Adela Rodriguez and a group of girls (Zebba, Susie, Dianne, Corine, and Yvonne), along with Gilbert Martinez and Manuel Torres, drove to Belvedere Park in East Los Angeles. Anthony Aceves and a man named Jack drove to the park in another car. Once there, the group broke up into couples. Adela walked off with Gilbert Martinez.

Adela and Gilbert started walking back to the car after Zebba called for them to return. A fight was about to start near the car between people Adela did not know. As Adela was getting in the car, Gilbert said, "Let me get my friends first." As Gilbert approached his friends, Adela saw defendant shoot Gilbert in the head at close range. Defendant also shot Anthony in the head, and he shot at Manuel as the latter ran away. Defendant turned and pointed the gun at Adela and her friend Susie. Susie backed the car out, and drove off. Defendant's car followed them for a short distance. The girls then returned to the park to check on their friends. Gilbert died in Adela's arms.

Susie Martinez testified that she drove Adela and the others to Belvedere Park on October 14, 1984. She walked around the park with Anthony Aceves until they were called back to the car. When they arrived at the car, she saw Carlos Tostado fighting with someone. The fight stopped, and she noticed defendant standing next to a brown Monte Carlo arguing or talking with Anthony. Gilbert was nearby. Defendant pulled out a gun and shot Gilbert and Anthony in the head. After Gilbert fell to the ground, defendant shot him again. Susie did not see Gilbert or Anthony with any weapons, nor did she see them make any aggressive gestures.

Carlos Tostado testified that he drove a white Monte Carlo to Belvedere Park on October 14, 1984. Several friends were with him. Another car drove up with four young women and three men. Tostado fought with one of the men. As the fight was breaking up, defendant, also known as "Chato," and Eugene Valenzuela, also known as "Pelon," drove up in a tan Monte Carlo. Defendant got out of the car, grabbed one of the men by the neck and shot him. Tostado had known defendant for about 10 years and was a member of the same gang, Arizona Marivilla. The victims belonged to a different gang, Mariana Marivilla.

Tostado admitted that he had lied to the police when he gave them statements on October 14, October 16, and December 12, 1984. He acknowledged that he was on probation for using phencyclidine (PCP) at the time of his testimony.

The prosecution read the preliminary hearing testimony of Manuel Torres, who had since died in an unrelated auto accident. He had gone to Belvedere Park in Susie's car with Gilbert Martinez and several young women. As they were getting into the car to leave, Gilbert stopped to talk to a group of people. Anthony Aceves left the car to "back up" Gilbert. Torres heard shots and saw Anthony fall to the ground. He himself was shot in the neck, but he did not see who shot him.

Deputy Sheriff Woodrow West went to Belvedere Park around 4 a.m. to investigate the shootings. He found a small pocket knife on the ground near the spot where Anthony Aceves had fallen. There were traces of blood on the knife. Deputy West also found five expended .22-caliber bullet casings.

Autopsies performed on the bodies of Gilbert Martinez and Anthony Aceves revealed that both alcohol (.09 percent) and PCP (.033 micrograms per milliliter) were found in Martinez's blood and that PCP (.042 micrograms per milliliter) was detected in Aceves's liver tissue. Since Aceves died three days after the shooting, the PCP levels in his liver and blood would have been higher at the time of the shooting.

2. Wells Murders.

Benjamin Verduzco had known defendant for about 16 years and had been a On October 15 or 16, 1984, defendant asked Verduzco to keep a beige and brown Monte Carlo in his garage because he was in some kind of trouble. Verduzco agreed. Defendant left the car in Verduzco's garage and drove off with Eugene Valenzuela in a 1969 black Chevrolet Impala.

[841 P.2d 868] fellow member of Arizona Marivilla, but Verduzco no longer belonged. He agreed to testify in exchange for release from prison. He was placed in a protection program, given $600 a month for room and board, and was promised a name change.

A week later, on October 24, 1984, defendant came to Verduzco's home. Ray and Marlene Wells arrived a few minutes later. Defendant asked to borrow $5 from Ray Wells and then left. That night, the police came to Verduzco's house and seized defendant's car.

On October 31, 1984, at 12:42 a.m., Frank Bender heard gunshots. He went to the front door of his house and looked across the street to the residence of Ray and Marlene Wells. He noticed that the Wellses' dog appeared frightened. He also saw a black 1968 Chevrolet Caprice parked nearby with the engine running. ² Shortly thereafter, he saw a silhouette cross the Wells yard and drive away in the car.

That same night, between 1 and 2 a.m., defendant called Benjamin Verduzco and said, "Bennie, I just did the big mouth in." When Verduzco asked, "Who," defendant said, "Remember the one who was there in the morning with the car." He referred to him as "R" and did not use a name. Defendant also said, "You know I take care of business. I had to do her, too." Defendant killed "her" because she saw him "do R." Defendant said, "They have gone to heaven with the angels." Defendant said he did it so that "they wouldn't be snitching no more."

Deputy Sheriff Robert Havercroft went to the Wells residence on the night of the murders. The rear door of the house was closed but not locked. He found Ray Wells's body on a couch in the living room and Marlene's body in the doorway between the dining room and kitchen. Deputy Havercroft found no evidence of theft, and no signs of forced entry.

Deputy Havercroft found three appointment books with many names and addresses. Attached to one of the appointment books were two small pieces of paper. The names "Chato" and "Pelon" were written on one piece of paper, and the name "Moses Verduzco" was written on the other.

Betty Phipps sold a 1968 Chevrolet Caprice to defendant in October 1984. The car was not in running condition; defendant told her he was going to fix it up. On October 7, 1984, a black 1968 Chevrolet Caprice was stolen from the Los Angeles zoo. The stolen 1968 Chevrolet Caprice was stopped at the United States-Mexico border at Tecate on December 15, 1984, while Salvador Rubio, a member of the Arizona Marivilla gang, was driving it. The license plate and vehicle identification numbers that were on the car did not belong to the car. One of the documents found in the glove compartment was a "pink slip" or ownership certificate with the name of Betty Phipps on the back.

Defense Case.

1. Belvedere Park Murders.

The defense presented evidence from law enforcement officers and others regarding inconsistent statements given by Adela Rodriguez and the other young women on the night of the shootings. Zebba Rodriguez testified that when she was walking back to the car she saw Gilbert Martinez, Anthony Aceves, and Manuel Torres arguing with about three other men. She was afraid, got in the car, heard shots, and ducked until she heard no more shots. When she raised her head, she saw Gilbert and Anthony lying on the ground. She did not see who had done the shooting.

David Martinez testified that he went to Belvedere Park on the night of the shooting with Carlos Tostado. He and Tostado had spent the day cruising, drinking beer and smoking PCP.

Dr. Griffith Thomas, a pathologist, testified that PCP can cause very bizarre and aggressive behavior. The amount of PCP in the victims' bodies would correlate with bizarre behavior. Dr. Donald Trockman, a forensic psychiatrist, testified that persons with amounts of PCP in their systems such as the victims showed were "unpredictable people" and that they "may attack you and try to kill you."

2. Wells Murders.

Detective Gene Hetzel interviewed Benjamin Verduzco on November 1, 1984. When he told Verduzco that the Wellses had been murdered, Verduzco appeared surprised and shocked. Verduzco did not mention that he had received a phone call from defendant on the night of the murders. He did not tell police about the phone call until much later.

Ralph Ortega...